Further records of Delias lara (Boisduval, 1836) (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) from Australia

2015·1.4 MB·

by  C G Miller

Australian Entomologist, 2015, 42 (1): 35-37 35
FURTHER RECORDS OF DELIAS LARA (BOISDUVAL, 1836)
(LEPIDOPTERA: PIERIDAE) FROM AUSTRALIA
C.G. MILLER' and S.J. JOHNSON'
'PO Box 336, Lennox Head, NSW 2478 (Email: [email protected])
"Deceased
Abstract
New records of Delias lara (Boisduval, 1836) from the Torres Strait, northern Queensland, are
presented and the species is confirmed as resident within Australian limits on Moa Island.
Introduction
Davenport and van Mastrigt (2008), in their revision of Delias mysis
(Fabricius, 1775), designated Delias mysis onca (Fruhstorfer, 1910) as a
synonym of Delias lara (Boisduval, 1836). It is one of four similarly
patterned taxa recorded from Australia, including typical D. mysis mysis in
eastern Queensland, D. aestiva aestiva Butler, 1897 in the Northern Territory
and D. aestiva smithersi Daniels, 2012 from Karumba to Weipa on the Gulf
of Carpentaria (Braby 2012, Daniels 2012, Braby 2014).
Figs 1-4. Delias lara adults from Moa Island, Torres Strait: (1) male upperside; (2)
male underside; (3) female upperside; (4) female underside. All in CGM collection.
36 Australian Entomologist, 2015, 42 (1)
Discussion
Within Australian limits, D. /ara was known previously from only three
specimens. One male and one female were collected by the missionary J.W.
Schomberg on Moa (= Banks) Island; the specimens are undated but would
have been collected between 1921 and 1936, the period in which he was
resident on the island (Schomberg 2008). Lachlan (1988) collected a second
female, on Dauan Island, in January 1987.
Braby (2012) gave a detailed discussion of the relationship between Delias
aestiva, D. mysis and D. lara but, because he saw only the three specimens of
D. lara mentioned above, he concluded: 8It remains to be established whether
the species is established (resident) in the northern and central Torres Strait
islands or whether the few specimens represent vagrants that have dispersed
south from Papua New Guinea9.
The present authors are aware of eight further specimens of D. lara from
Australia: 2 Jo, 1 ©, labelled 8Eet Hill, Moa Is., Torres Strait, Old, 9 July
1977, C.G. Miller9 (in C.G. Miller collection); 3 G4, 8Eet Hill vicinity, Moa
Is., Torres Strait, Old, 9-13 July 1977, G. Monteith and D. Cook9 (in
Queensland Museum, Brisbane); 1 (4, 8Moa Is, Torres Strait, Old, 2 July
1993, S.J. Johnson' (in Museum of Tropical Queensland, Townsville); 1 9,
*09?25'13.00" S 142?32'05.16"E, Mt Cornwallis, Dauan Is, Torres St, Old, 7-8
Mar 2012, S.J. & I.R. Johnson9 (in Museum of Tropical Queensland).
The July 1977 specimens were collected at the head of Neri Creek (10.161°S,
142.300?E), where it enters the rainforest-filled valley between Eet Hill and
Banks Peak in the NE sector of Moa Island. This site is in the centre of the
island, far from coastal mangroves favoured at other places by the butterfly's
close relatives D. aestiva aestiva and D. a. smithersi (Braby 2012, Daniels
2012). Moa is the largest island (diameter 16 km) in the central Torres Strait
and has the highest mountains (up to 350 m altitude) of all Torres Strait
islands. The rainforest which covers these mountains and valleys is the most
diverse in Torres Strait and benefits from enhanced rainfall generated by the
mountains. These factors all combine to give Moa Island a better potential to
sustain a resident population of D. /ara than enjoyed by any other island in
Torres Strait.
All six specimens collected in July 1977 were in very fresh condition. Several
others were observed flying at the margins of lowland rainforest and settling
frequently. The presence of numerous freshly emerged adults indicates that a
breeding population is established on Moa Island. Moa is 100 km from the
New Guinea mainland so to get a large group of vagrants in good condition
would be very unusual. The resident vs vagrant status of the species on
Dauan Island, which is very small (1.75 km diameter), is only 10 km from the
Papua New Guinea mainland and has little quality rainforest, remains
uncertain.
Australian Entomologist, 2015, 42 (1) 37
For a general account of Moa Island butterflies see Valentine and Johnson
(1993).
Acknowledgements
The authors thank Rosie Alder for the photographs and the staff of the
Queensland Museum for information about specimens in their care.
References
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(Lepidoptera: Pieridae), a unique mangrove specialist of Euphorbiaceae from northern Australia.
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Pieridae) comb. nov. from the gulf country of northern Australia, with description of the female.
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DANIELS, G. 2012. A new subspecies of Delias mysis (Fabricius) (Lepidoptera: Pieridae) from
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